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GNA Georgia: Q&A with Srecko Neuman, UNHCR Head of Field Office in Gali and Zugdidi, western Georgia

Global Needs Assessment, 9 October 2008

Help new IDPs, but don't forget the old ones

How are those people who are still displaced from the earlier conflict in the 1990s reacting to those who have been displaced in the latest conflict?

In general IDPs – internally displaced people – from previous conflicts express sympathy and compassion towards the recently displaced. In the field we observed situations where a long-term displaced family temporarily accommodated newly displaced people.

However, this general positive attitude of the Georgian population does not necessarily extend to ethnic Svans from the Kodori Valley as there have been some tensions between the two groups in the past.

How different are the needs of both groups?

The "old" group is relatively well established in local communities and has already developed coping mechanisms. The primary need for this group is to assist them in the process of local integration that is already underway. As of 2009, within the framework of the GNA, UNHCR will ensure dignified housing and transform existing coping mechanisms into viable sources of livelihood.

The "new" group is still in shock over the recent events and primarily needs assistance to settle under those new circumstances.

What are they telling you their greatest needs are?

Displaced people from previous conflicts want to resume normal lives. What they need most is decent housing and jobs. They want to have an income of their own and do not want to depend on assistance.

Those displaced by the recent conflict need basics: a warm place to get through the winter, food, warm clothes...

What impact does it have on you working in a place where the needs of those people of concern to UNHCR outstrip the funds?

Before the recent conflict funds were barely available to seriously tackle even part of the needs of the displaced population. This was frustrating in itself.

After the August events, many donors responded to the crisis with huge commitments. Unfortunately, many of these commitments seem to be focused on addressing the needs of the "newly" displaced disregarding displaced people who already existed in the country.

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Displacement in Georgia

Tens of thousands of civilians are living in precarious conditions, having been driven from their homes by the crisis in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.

On the morning of August 12, the first UNHCR-chartered plane carrying emergency aid arrived in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the first UN assistance to arrive in the country since fighting broke out the previous week. The airlift brought in 34 tonnes of tents, jerry cans, blankets and kitchen sets from UNHCR's central emergency stockpile in Dubai. Items were then loaded onto trucks at the Tbilisi airport for transport and distribution.

A second UNHCR flight landed in Tbilisi on August 14, with a third one expected to arrive the following day. In addition, two UNHCR aid flights are scheduled to leave for Vladikavkaz in the Russian Federation the following week with mattresses, water tanks and other supplies for displaced South Ossetians.

Working with local partners, UNHCR is now providing assistance to the most vulnerable and needy. These include many young children and family members separated from one another. The situation is evolving rapidly and the refugee agency is monitoring the needs of the newly displaced population, which numbered some 115,000 on August 14.

Posted on 15 August 2008

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